Dominant Fourth Quarter Powers Men's Lacrosse Past Wheeling To Stay Undefeated In G-MAC Play

OVERVIEW – Wheeling

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 20, Wheeling Cardinals 13

RECORDS: Northwood 6-2 (4-0 G-MAC), Wheeling 3-3 (2-2 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Bishop Schmitt Field – Wheeling, W.Va.

RECAP: Northwood men's lacrosse used a dominant fourth quarter to pull away from Wheeling on Thursday (March 26), securing a 20-13 victory on the road. The Timberwolves broke open a tight game with a 9-2 run in the final period after the teams were tied entering the fourth.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The Timberwolves struck quickly, as Andrew Rogers opened the scoring just 40 seconds into the contest. Wheeling responded with a pair of goals to take an early 2-1 lead, but Northwood answered with goals from Ryder Mulvey and Dylan Ayotte.
• The two sides traded goals throughout the remainder of the quarter, with MacKennan Tognetti scoring off an Andrew Jones assist late, but Wheeling found the equalizer in the final 20 seconds to make it 4-4 after one.
• Wheeling carried momentum into the second quarter, scoring just five seconds in to take a 5-4 advantage.
• Northwood responded with a decisive 3-0 run, highlighted by a man-up goal and a quick second score from Mulvey, followed by a Drew Lockwood finish off a Mulvey assist.
• The Timberwolves tightened up defensively over the final 10 minutes of the half, holding Wheeling scoreless and taking a 7-5 lead into the break while maintaining a 28-23 shot advantage.
• The third quarter swung in Wheeling's favor, as the Cardinals opened with two goals to tie the game and later capitalized on back-to-back man-up opportunities to build a 10-8 lead.
• Northwood answered each push, with Tognetti finishing off a feed from Payton Allaire and Rogers adding a pair of goals to keep the Timberwolves within striking distance. After Wheeling took an 11-10 lead with under a minute to play, Allaire delivered a clutch unassisted goal with 24 seconds remaining to send the game into the fourth tied at 11-11.
• Northwood seized full control in the final quarter, scoring three goals in 36 seconds to quickly turn a tie into a 14-11 lead. The surge continued with Tognetti netting back-to-back goals and adding a man-up finish midway through the quarter. Goals from Rogers, Andrew Jones, and Mulvey capped the 9-goal quarter, as Northwood pulled away for the 20-13 victory.
• Northwood controlled key areas statistically, finishing with a 53-44 shot advantage, a 40-32 edge in ground balls, and a 24-11 margin in faceoffs.

GAME STATS

• SHOTS (SOG): Northwood 53 (34), Wheeling 44 (27)
• GROUNDBALLS: Northwood 40, Wheeling 32
• ASSISTS / TURNOVERS: Northwood 9 / 18, Wheeling 10 / 24
• FACEOFFS: Northwood 24-35, Wheeling 11-35
• MAN-UP: Northwood 2-3, Wheeling 2-8
• SAVES: Northwood 14, Wheeling 14

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ryder Mulvey: 6 Goals, 3 Assists
• MacKennan Tognetti: 5 Goals
• Andrew Rogers: 4 Goals, 1 Assist
• Andrew Jones: 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 10 Ground Balls
• Payton Allaire: 1 Goal, 1 Assist
• Easton Beukema: 14 Saves

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood's 6-2 start marks the best opening to a season in program history, as the Timberwolves have already surpassed their total win output from their comeback 2024-25 campaign (5).
• With a perfect 4-0 mark in G-MAC play, Northwood sits among the conference leaders alongside Davenport (5-0) and Seton Hill (4-0), positioning itself firmly in the title race early in the season.
• The Timberwolves are now just one win shy of matching the program record for victories in a season, set during the 1997 campaign, with six games remaining.

UP NEXT

• Northwood men's lacrosse continues its road trip with another G-MAC contest at Point Park in Pittsburgh on March 27. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.